SearchEngineJournal.com published an article today on choosing a domain name to maximize SEO.
The author recommends staying away from Exact Match Domains, I think that there may some flawed thinking here as to discard all EMD’s. Low quality names sure, but there are several that would be excellent to own and dominate search with.
The EMD update crushed keyword domain websites in the rankings. Average ranking sunk to record lows.
Obviously, choosing an exact-match domain is a pretty bad idea. But that only tells you what you shouldn’t do.
The recommendation is to use your own brand. One reason being given is “Brand signals”
Brand signals.
What are brand signals?
Brand signals are any mention or occurrence of your business name or website on the web. They are an increasingly important means of improving your SEO.
In a sense, brand signals are broader than SEO. They have more to do with PR than they do with SEO.
Read the full story here
Vivian says
I think the article at SearchEngineJournal.com provides excellent advice–except as to EMDs. As an example, I just searched for diapers on Google. Setting aside the AdWords ad for it that shows as the first ad on the SERPS, the #1 organic result below the ads was also Diapers.com.
Besides that, an EMD shouldn’t necessarily be the sole option. Branding is part of any business. I tend to see EMDs and branding as part of the same marketing puzzle, not exclusive one of the other.